Juniper focused on the boy's explanation of his situation, and the circumstance that lead to it. Dark, stony. Yes that would track if he had lived in a cave, or even crawled out of a tunnel. It was the mention of him falling that pricked her ears. Juniper herself quite literally stumbled into Mythris. Stardust fell from the very sky. Such a strange occurrence was common here it seemed, although she silently prayed that the boy's arrival was more like her own than her packmate's.

I know this is pasto!

The boy spoke a word in a language unknown to Juniper. He clued them in with his gesture to the ground. Juniper had started to ponder how much the word sounded like "pasture", before their blood chilled with the child's next statement.

Dead? Juniper's voice was soft, her mouth opened slightly, but hung silently in an "o" shape. Her ears splayed.

The boy tried to move on from the grim revelation, and Juniper allowed this. It would be better to gather their thoughts on the matter before they addressed. Half-listening, the other half ruminating,  Juniper remained quiet as the boy continued to speak and then cough and sputter. Juniper shifted their attention from their thoughts fully to the boy.

Southeast? Hm... Juniper looked over her should to follow the direction the boy indicated he had traveled from. All things considered, he had come from the west. How far had the boy walked already?

I can agree that you've walked in an eastward direction. As I don't know where you've started, I can't say whether or not you've gone more northeast or southeast.

Oakwood eyes return to the boy with upturned brows.

Who told you to go southeast? Why is that they send you there, but not attend you? It is dangerous for a pup to wander the world alone. There are far greater threats to you than that hare was. That hare may have given you a mean cut, but there are animals far bigger than you or I that would see you as a meal.

They couldn't just let the boy continue on this way, but Juniper had a duty to the rise. They had to tend to the blue turtlehead crop, to cultivate the growth of those rare flowers. Then there was the added element that the seasons would be changing. This boy would be susceptible to the elements. The cold wind and the winter snow. Those natural hazards would kill the boy, even if predators wouldn't.

Would I be able to convince you to stop your traveling? If only for a time?